The last thing the New York Yankees expected was to see the same pitcher for all nine innings in game one of a doubleheader.

The Los Angeles Dodgers made the decision to have Yoshinobu Yamamoto replace Emmet Sheehan as the game one starter, a decision that paid off in a big way. Yamamoto picked up an 8-2 victory over the Yankees.

Yamamoto, for the first time in the regular season, threw a complete game. The 27-year-old pitched an absolute gem, and manager Dave Roberts let him throw 102 pitches as he recorded all 27 outs himself.

After the game, Yamamoto spoke with the media about his milestone. It's one he did twice in the postseason last year, but it's still incredible to see as the Japanese sensation puts his name in the Cy Young conversation.

"When I was going in I was not thinking about that as we had a doubleheader. I was just focusing on my own job. On a day like this to perform like this, that's a good thing," Yamamoto said through his translator, according to SportsNet LA.

He continued, "First thing, I was focusing on executing my own pitches and then I was trying to select the best pitches to each batter... and I was able to locate my pitches in the right spot."

Officially, this was the Dodgers' first regular season complete game since Gavin Stone's on June 26, 2024. Stone, similarly to Yamamoto, allowed just four hits in his outing.

Elsewhere, it was the Dodgers' first complete game against the Yankees since Jerry Reuss in Game 5 of the 1981 World Series. To put things into perspective, it's been 45 years since the last Dodgers pitcher went the full nine innings against these Yankees.

There's no doubt Yamamoto has thrown better games in his MLB career, but this will go down as his best regular season start. In total, 69 of the 102 pitches he threw were strikes. He threw 22 first-pitch strikes to the 30 batters he faced. Yamamoto got nine Yankees to ground out while 12 flew out.

Sure, the Yankees scored a pair of runs, including a Trent Grisham solo homer in the fourth inning, but New York left just one runner on base. In total, they were 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position.

As for the second run Yamamoto gave up, that came in the bottom of the eighth after Jazz Chisholm Jr. opened the inning with a double and then Anthony Volpe drove him in on the very next pitch.

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